Raspberry Bakewell Slices

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Sweet shortcrust pastry, layered with jam and whole raspberries, topped with an almond sponge and sprinkled with flaked almonds.

These slices are perfect for dessert or with a cup of tea.

Last weekend I went on a day trip to Cambridge to visit one of my closest friends, Katie, to see her new grown up house and meet her and her boyfriend’s new puppy, Phene. Obviously I had to bake something and while I was brainstorming I remembered a Bakewell Slice that we still often talk about. Katie and I visited my parents in Cork with another friend Sarah for a long weekend about five years ago. We were driving about the Ring of Kerry and by chance stumbled on the Avoca there. Now I’m sure this Avoca is not a secret, but it felt like absolute luck to us that day. We shared a couple of slices of cake between the three of us, I couldn’t tell you what the other slices were, but that Bakewell Slice will forever have a space in our hearts. Obviously I set about recreating it and here is my attempt.

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Raspberry Bakewell Slice

Sweet shortcrust pastry, layered with jam and whole raspberries, topped with an almond sponge and sprinkled with flaked almonds.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
Chilling Timee2 hours
Total Time3 hours 30 minutes
Keyword: almond, bakewell, jam, pastry, raspberry
Servings: 10 slices

Equipment

  • 8 inch square tray
  • baking beans or raw rice or dried beans

Ingredients

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

  • 175 g plain flour
  • 110 g unsalted butter fridge cold and cut into cubes
  • 50 g icing sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2-3 tsp cold water
  • ¼ tsp fine salt

Jam Layer

  • 150 g raspberry jam or really any flavour
  • 100 g raspberries if you're using frozen, defrost them first

Almond Sponge Layer

  • 200 g SOFT butter
  • 200 g caster sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • ½ tsp almond extract optional
  • 100 g ground almonds
  • 100 g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Topping

  • 50 g flaked almonds
  • 1 tbsp apricot jam

Instructions

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

  • Combine the flour, salt and sugar. Rub the cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.
  • Add the egg yolk and cold water until the dough just holds together when squeezed. You don't want to handle this too much, as this will make the pastry tough.
  • The dough might look a bit scraggly at this stage, but wrap it tightly in some cling film and put it into the fridge for two hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan.
  • Line an 8inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper.
  • Now this is where it gets exciting! We're going to grate our pastry into our tin. Grate your cold pastry disc into the bottom of your baking tin. Flatten and squash it out with your fingers until it evenly covers the bottom. Prick several times with a fork.
  • Next we're going to blind bake. Take a piece of greaseproof paper that is bigger than your tin. Scrunch it into a ball and flatten it back out and lay it over your pastry in the tin. Pour the baking beans, dry rice or dry beans on top of the greaseproof paper.
  • Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the greaseproof paper and beans/rice/beans. Bake for a further 10 minutes.
  • Leave cool for 5-10 minutes. Spread the jam and raspberries evenly over the surface of the pastry.

Almond Cake

  • Lower the oven temperature slightly to 160°C fan.
  • Beat the soft butter and sugar until completely smooth.
  • Add the eggs one at a time combining fully after each. Add the almond extract if using.
  • Fold through the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt
  • Spread the cake batter over the jam and raspberries. Sprinkle with flaked almonds.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out cleanly.
  • Mix the apricot jam with one tbsp of boiling water. Brush over the surface of the cake.

Enjoy, R x

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